Kazuo (カズオ, かずお) is a masculine Japanese given name.

Possible spellings

It has several written forms, and the meaning depends on the characters used (usually

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subse ...

, but sometimes

hiragana is a Japanese language, Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" ori ...

). Common forms include: * 一雄: first son, first in leadership/excellence * 一夫: first son * 一男: first man/male * 和夫: harmonious/peaceful man * 和男: harmonious/peaceful man * かずお (

) * カズオ (

katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived f ...

)

People with the name

*, Japanese sport wrestler *

Kazuo Aoki was a bureaucrat and cabinet minister in the Empire of Japan, serving as Minister of Finance, and Minister of Greater East Asia. Biography Aoki was born to a farming family in Sarashina District, Nagano prefecture (now part of the city of N ...

, Japanese government minister during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Thea ...

, and into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

*, Japanese shogi player * Kazuo Chiba (born 1940),

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in a ...

* Kazuo Harada (died 1998), anime producer, audio director, and sound effects director *

Kazuo Hirai is a Japanese businessman. He is best known as the former chairman of Sony Corporation, serving from April 2018 to June 2019, as well as president and CEO from April 2012 to April 2018. He also served as a board member of Sony Computer Entertain ...

(平井一夫, born 1964), President/CEO of Sony Computer * Kazuo Endo, Kobe earthquake survivor * Kazuo Hashimoto, late Japanese inventor of

Caller ID Caller identification (Caller ID) is a telephone service, available in analog and digital telephone systems, including voice over IP (VoIP), that transmits a caller's telephone number to the called party's telephone equipment when the call is ...

and the telephone

answering machine An answering machine, answerphone or message machine, also known as telephone messaging machine (or TAM) in the United Kingdom, UK and some Commonwealth countries, ansaphone or ansafone (from a trade name), or telephone answering device (TAD), ...

, including the ansafone. *, Japanese actor and voice actor * Kazuo Hiramatsu (1947–2020), accounting scholar, president of Kwansei Gakuin University * Kazuo Hirotsu (1891–1968), Japanese novelist and literary critic active in the

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

of Japan * Kazuo Ichinohe (born 1941), Japanese voice actor (stage name Shin Aomori) *, Japanese aikidoka *

Kazuo Inamori was a Japanese philanthropist, entrepreneur and the founder of Kyocera and KDDI. He was the chairman of Japan Airlines. Inamori was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering in 2000 for innovation in ceramic materials ...

(born 1932), Japanese businessman *, Japanese cyclist *

Kazuo Ishiguro Sir Kazuo Ishiguro ( ; born 8 November 1954) is a British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and moved to Britain in 1960 with his parents when he was five. He is one of the most c ...

(石黒一雄, born 1954), British author *, Japanese table tennis player *, Japanese high jumper *

Kazuo Kitagawa was the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan), Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the Japanese Cabinet of Junichiro Koizumi. Born in Ikuno-ku, Osaka, Ikuno-ku, Osaka, Kitagawa graduated from Faculty of Law, Sok ...

(北側一雄, born 1953), Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the Japanese Cabinet of Junichiro Koizumi *, Japanese diver * Kazuo Koike (小池一夫, born 1936), manga artist *

Kazuo Komizu is a Japanese film director from Miyagi Prefecture, mainly focusing on violent sex and gore films. Biography He has a small following outside Japan thanks to a couple of notorious films:''Bijo no harawata, Entrails of a Beauty'' and ''Entrails o ...

(born 1946), Japanese film director * Kazuo Kubokawa (窪川一雄, 1903–1943), astronomer *, Japanese actor, voice actor and theatre director *, Japanese ice hockey player * Kazuo Matsui (松井稼頭央, born 1975), baseball player *

Kazuo Misaki Kazuo Misaki (born April 25, 1976) is a retired Japanese professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2013, he was the 2006 PRIDE Welterweight (183 lbs) Grand Prix Champion, and also competed in Sengoku, Pancr ...

(born 1976), Japanese professional mixed martial arts fighter and former

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

* Kazuo Miyagawa (宮川一夫, 1908–1999), cinematographer *

Kazuo Mizutani was chief of staff to Takeshi Mori, commander of the First Imperial Guards Division, at the end of World War II. Mizutani was in his office, listening to Col. Masataka Ida's explanation of a plot to prevent Japan's surrender, when Gen. Mori wa ...

(水谷和夫), Chief of Staff of Japanese Imperial Guard during the close of World War II * Kazuo Nakamura (1926–2002), Japanese-Canadian painter and sculptor *, Japanese basketball coach * Kazuo Nakanishi (1922–2003), briefly the leader of the

Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan's largest ''yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for longshoreman, dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest organized c ...

yakuza syndicate in the chaotic years of the Yama-Ichi War *, Japanese magazine editor and photography critic *, Japanese swimmer * Kazuo Ohno (1906–2010), Japanese dancer associated with Butoh * Kazuo Oka (born 1948), Japanese voice actor *, Japanese-American professional wrestler *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer and manager *, Japanese racewalker * Kazuo Sakamaki (酒巻和男, 1918–1999), first prisoner of war held by the US in World War II * Kazuo Sakurada (1948–2020), known as Mr. Sakurada) retired Japanese professional wrestler *, Japanese cross-country skier *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese sport wrestler *, Japanese shogi player *, Japanese mixed martial artist * Kazuo Taoka (田岡一雄, 1913–1981), Godfather of the

yakuza syndicate *

Kazuo Umezu is a Japanese manga artist, musician and actor. He is among the most famous authors of horror manga and has been vital for its development since the 1960s. Life Umezu was born in Kōya, Wakayama Prefecture, but raised in the mountainous G ...

(楳図かずお, born 1936), horror manga author *, Japanese businessman * Kazuo Yamada (1912–1991), Japanese conductor *, Japanese sociologist

Fictional characters

Kazuo Tengan The following is a list of characters from the Spike Chunsoft video game series ''Danganronpa''. The series follows the students of Hope's Peak Academy who are forced into a life of mutual killing by a sadistic teddy bear named Monokuma. The seri ...

, the antagonist of ''

Danganronpa is a Japanese video game franchise created by Kazutaka Kodaka and developed and owned by Spike Chunsoft (formerly Spike). The series primarily surrounds various groups of apparent high school students who are forced into murdering each oth ...

'' * Kazuo Nakano, character in Yudetamago's manga series ''

Kinnikuman is a Japanese manga series created by the duo Yoshinori Nakai and Takashi Shimada, known as Yudetamago. It follows Suguru Kinniku, a superhero who must win a wrestling tournament to retain the title of prince of Planet Kinniku. ...

'' * Kazuo Saki, brother of the Shredder from the 1987–1996 animated TV series, ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'' * Kazuo Uzuki, fictional baseball player that

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, an ...

created as an April Fools' Day hoax * Kazuo Kiriyama, the primary antagonist of '' Battle Royale'' * Kazuo Makunoichi, fictional character in ''

Hajime no Ippo is a Japanese boxing-themed manga series written and illustrated by George Morikawa. It has been serialized by Kodansha in the ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' since October 1989 and collected into 135 ''tank� ...

Video games

* Kazuo or

Go! Sudoku ''Go! Sudoku'' is a sudoku puzzle game for the PlayStation Portable, released in Europe on December 2, 2005 and North America on March 21, 2006. It was later released in Japan on April 27, 2006 under the name of ''Kazuo'' (カズオ), as Nikoli h ...

, is the name for the Japanese release of the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 200 ...

puzzle game *

Kazuo Sawa The series (typically localized as ''River City'') is a video game series started by Technōs Japan. The series is now handled by Arc System Works who purchased all of the intellectual property rights from Technōs' successor, Million Corp. The ...

is the name of a video game composer. Notable works include the soundtracks for '' The Battle of Olympus'' and '' Rivercity Ransom'' * Kazuo Akuji is the leader of the Ronin in the Saints Row 2 * Kazuo Hoshiro is the leader of the Investigation Team of Sweet Home (video game)

References

{{given name Japanese masculine given names